How to get an Irish passport

To access the Irish documents, it will help you to know as much information about where and when your Irish grandparent was born, which may involve some genealogy research.

If one of your parents is Irish, and you would like to get an Irish passport, the process is easier. You need: their marriage certificate; a current official I.D; a copy of their death certificate if your Irish parent has passed away, a full long-form birth certificate of your Irish parent, showing your grandparents’ names, places of birth and ages at birth.

You will also need: your own long-form birth certificate; documentation to show that you have changed your name, such as a marriage certificate, if this has happened; a notarized copy of your current passport, and at least three other notarized copies of proofs of identity, one of which must be a photo I.D; a bank/utility statement with your current address; and two signed passport photos.

Once you have established your Irish citizenship – which can take up to 18 months to process – you can apply for an Irish passport. This can take up to six weeks to process and you can do this through your nearest Irish consulate.

And then, you too can sashay through the EU passport section at Dublin airport after the overnight flight from New York!